Impact of COVID-19 on Nuclear Medicine Departments in Africa and Latin America

Autor: Pilar Orellana, Yaroslav Pynda, Noura El-Haj, Miriam Mikhail, Enrique Estrada Lobato, Olivier Pellet, Olga Morozova, Francesco Giammarile, Roberto C. Delgado Bolton, Diana Paez
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
Latin Americans
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
IPC
Infection Prevention and Control
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
MEDLINE
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
PET
Positron Emission Tomography
Article
030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment
LMIC
Lower-Middle-Income Countries
IRIS
International Research Integration System
Agency (sociology)
Pandemic
Medicine
Humans
Radiology
Nuclear Medicine and imaging
CNM
Conventional Nuclear Medicine
Pandemics
business.industry
SARS-CoV-2
Atomic energy
COVID-19
LIC
Low-Income Countries
HIC
High-Income Countries
Latin America
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
COVID-19
Coronavirus Disease 2019
UMIC
Upper-Middle-Income Countries
WHO
World Health Organisation
Nuclear Medicine
Nuclear medicine
business
Zdroj: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine
ISSN: 1558-4623
0001-2998
Popis: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted a survey to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nuclear medicine services worldwide at two specific time-points: June and October 2020. In this paper, we describe the impact of COVID-19 on nuclear medicine departments in Africa (19 countries, 41 centers) and Latin America (15 countries, 83 centers) obtained from the survey. Respectively in Africa and Latin America, the volume of nuclear medicine procedures decreased by 69% and 79% in June 2020 and 44% and 67% in October 2020. Among the nuclear medicine procedures, oncological PET studies showed less of a decline in utilization compared to conventional nuclear medicine studies. A gradual trend towards a return to the pre-COVID-19 status of the supply chains of radioisotopes, generators, and other essential materials was evident. Overall, in 2020, the pandemic-related challenges resulted in significant decrease in nuclear medicine diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in Africa and Latin America. The impact was more pronounced in Latin America than in Africa. The current COVID-19 pandemic poses many challenges for the practice of nuclear medicine. If adequately prepared, departments can continue to deliver their essential services, while mitigating the risk for patients and staff. This requires adapting the SOPs, as quickly as possible, to meet the new requirements.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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